The Safety of Navigation, implementing SOLAS - Chapter V has been prepared to help ship-owners, masters, crews and industry to understand and comply with the SOLAS Regulations and offers practical guidance on how they should be implemented.

It is important that all parties fully understand the requirements of Chapter V and the associated documents and recognise their own specific responsibilities under each Regulation.

Of all the international conventions dealing with maritime safety, the most important is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which covers a wide range of measures designed to improve the safety of shipping.

Substantial revisions to the fifth version of SOLAS came into force on 1 July 2002, with the new Regulations implemented under UK legislation by the Merchant Shipping (Safety of Navigation) Regulations 2002.